List of Italian-American actors


To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Italian American actors or must have references showing they are Italian American actors and are notable. As discussed in the 2005 book Hollywood Italians by Peter E. Bondanella, as well as numerous other sources, Italian-American actors have made a significant impact. The Guild of Italian American Actors was founded in 1937.

Background

Some Italian-American film directors of the silent film era included Robert Vignola, Gregory LaCava, Frank Borzage and Frank Capra. Italian-American actors included Enrico Caruso in the cultural legitimation of American silent cinema, to Rudolph Valentino.
The American film Renaissance in the 1970s coincided with Scorsese's Mean Streets and Coppola's The Godfather, Giuliana Muscio attributes this to Italian Americans becoming better educated and more affluent after World War II.
Muscio connects the prominence of Italian-American director-actors to the of traditional Italian theatre. Such director-actors include: Danny DeVito, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Vincent Gallo, Al Pacino, Stanley Tucci, Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Gary Sinise, Anne Bancroft, and Madonna.

List

The list is organized chronologically, listing Italian American actors by birth date periods.

1880

1890

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s